What an Amazing Pro-Life Witness: 2019 Summary
Saturday 11th May 2019 was the most amazing day for pro-lifers and if you were part of it then THANK YOU!
March for Life UK/LifeFest 2019 was our best event yet with 5000 pro-lifers filling the streets of London to proclaim that every life is irreplaceable right from the moment of conception. We were blessed to have a record number of attendees with supporters travelling from Australia, Romania and Gibraltar as well as from all around the UK just to be with us on the day. In the morning all the workshops were very well attended and the short film ‘Babies’ proved to be extremely popular. The pro-life play ‘Crowned with Honour and Glory’ was very well received – I heard one girl turn to her family as the play finished to tell them she now wanted to be an actress. A big thank you to our other speakers Tim Dieppe from Christian Concern, Pastor Darnell and Karen Starks, and Dr Ronan Cleary (speeches at the end of this email if you missed them on the day). Whilst we have grown in numbers every year, those who oppose us have decreased and this year there were a mere 30-40 of them – let’s keep them in our prayers.
One of our keynote speakers Melissa Ohden reminded us in Parliament Square that ‘Without the right to life there is no other right’. She had seen this message on one of the posters brought along and told us that this message was a very personal one for her as she had survived an attempted saline abortion by her mother in 1977. She went on to say “What would the millions of children say to you if they ever had a chance to live? They would say ‘thank you for every single one of your efforts’. I will be their voice, I will be their name and on their behalf I will say thank you for all you do.”
Obianuju Ekeocha (our good friend Uju!) and Jennifer and Jeff Christie, who received a standing ovation, spoke incredibly well, their speeches are at the end of this article and I urge you to take the time to listen to them along with the speeches from Bishop John Wilson and Bishop John Keenan who gave us such strong support.
All the pro-life organisations and others who support our aims were represented at the event including: Alliance of Pro-life Students, ARCH, CBR UK, Catholic Medical Association, Christian Concern, Fiat Fertility, 40 Days for Life, The Good Counsel Network, Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, Life Charity, Oxford Pro-life Witness, Precious Life, Pregnancy Crisis Helpline, Rachel’s Vineyard, Right to Life and SPUC/SPUC Scotland. We urge you to check out these organisations and see where you can give your time and talents to help grow the pro-life movement. Whilst it is important to come to March for Life UK it is just as important to continue your pro-life involvement, whether stepping out boldly as a leader or giving support to an already existing project. Remember there is a space waiting that only you can fill because you are irreplaceable!
We still have lots of unpaid bills from the day – if you would like to help financially support us then our bank details are Account name: March for Life UK, Account number: 39971560, Sort code: 772918. Cheques can be made payable to March for Life UK and posted to 19, Geraldine Rd, Malvern, Worcs WR14 3NT or pay via our website https://www.marchforlife.co.uk/donate/
Thanks for being such great supporters!
Ben, Sarah and Isabel
